Container closure



CONTAINER CLOSURE I Filed Aug. 17, 19:52

' 29 46 49 gl la 2 34 g 25 28 IR 52 HE 1.1 3mm MERRILL 'L. RATl-IDUN H E 1 L7 Patented Aug. 28, 1934 PATENT OFFICE,

CONTAINER CLOSURE Merrill L. Rathbun, Lockport, N. Y.

Application August 17,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in containers and particularly to closure means therefore.

The preferred embodiment of the invention discloses a cap for a collapsible tube or other container implacable or removable therefrom which is, during the normal use of the tube, prevented from becoming disengaged.

Prior to this invention, containers of this class have been provided with caps which were made to screw on the top of the dispensing neck so that it was necessary to unscrew and remove the cap before access to the contents could be had. Such structure has been found to be undesirable since the cap often became lost and the contents of the container exposed to the air, the result of such exposure being generally injurious to the contents. Subsequently a cap for a container was developed which could not be removed but was 0 merely movable in some fashion to permit dispensingthe contents of the container. This development, while overcoming the objection to a removable cap, was found to be somewhat objectionable, particularly in dispensing paste, which, when exposed to the air, has a tendency to harden and cause the cap to stick. The fact that many caps for closures of this class have been developed and that none of them appear to fulfill the requirements of the average user thereof, has prompted applicant to develop the present invention which it is believed not only simplifies the structure, thereby lessening the merchandising cost, but simplifies the assembly and operation as well. At times it may be found desirable to remove the cap of a container. At

other times it may be found desirable to movethe cap to permit dispensing from the container without the.removal therefrom. These features are combined in the present invention and constitute the principal objects thereof.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of means for properly sealing the container by removing any of the dispensed substance from the rim of theopening in the container to assure proper seating of the cap thereon.

Other and further objects of the invention may be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specification which is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and in which Figure 1 is an elevation of one modification of the invention showing a collapsible tube having a cap engageable with the neck of the tube;

Figure 2 is a view of the cap engaged with the tube, the openings in the elements being in registry;

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary side elevations of the tube showing the guide means for the cap;

1932, Serial No. 629,135

Figures 5 and 6 are plan views of the tubes shown in Figures 3 and 4;

Figure 7 is a developed view of the tube neck showing the guide means for the cap;

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the tube neck and cap, showing the cap moved to close the opening in the neck of the tube;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a bottom plan view of the cap showing the location of the sealing means for the tube; and

Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view of the cap taken substantially on the line 11--11 of Figure 9.

Referring to the drawing, the present invention is shown applied to a collapsible tube structure generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. The tube includes a body portion 11, and a sloped shoulder 12 which terminates in a neck 13. The neck 13 is provided with a top 14 in which an off-center opening 16 is made. The opening 16 gives access to the'contents of the tube. Reference is had particularly to Figure 7 of the drawing in which is shown a developed view ofthe guide means which takes the form of a groove 17 cut into the wall of the neck 13 and having a slight upward incline from the portion 18 thereof to the portion 19. The end of the portion 18 is tipped upwardly as at 20, whereas the end of the portion 19 is tipped downwardly as at 21. A further groove 23 commences at the upper edge of the neck 13 and projects downwardly into the center of the groove 17. The two grooves 1'7 and 23 constitute the means by which it is possible to mount a cap on the neck and secure it thereto in either open or closed position.

A cap 25 having a top 26, is adapted to open or close the, opening 16 in the neck of the tube. This cap is arranged with a large opening 28 which may project from the center of the top to the edge thereof. The edges 29 of the open ing 28 are sloped inwardly to provide a somewhat sharpened edge adjacent the top 14 of the neck 13 in order that any of the substance adhering to said top after a dispensing operation will be scraped away to permit proper seating of the cap on the neck. Further mention of the feature will be made in connection with the operation of the cap. As may be more clearly understood by referring to Figures 8, 9, and 10, the cap is provided with a recess 31 formed in the under face of the top 26 directly opposite the opening 28. A cork or other suitable gasket 32 is secured in the opening 31 and is adapted, when the cap is moved to closed position, to seal the opening 16 in the neck of the tube 11.

Contrary to the usual thread means by which caps of this type are generally engaged with the neck of the tube, the present cap is provided with a pin or other suitable projection 33 located substantially midway of the side wall 34 of the cap. This pin or projection in the present instance is located opposite the cap opening 28 and is properly proportioned to fit into either of the grooves 23 or 17 in the neck 13.

Referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawing, the method of mounting the cap 25 on the neck 13 will be described. As pointed out, the pin 33, being diametrically opposite the cap opening 28, the cap is placedon the neck 13 with the pin registering with the groove '23. The cap is moved downwardly to cause the pin to lie within the groove 17. It will be noted by comparing the opening 28 with the opening .16, that these two openings are only partially in registry. In other words, it is immediately apparent that the cap in this position serves neither the purpose of opening the tube for dispensing nor of closing the tube for preventing dispensing and this or some suitable alteration thereof has been chosen as the proper relative position of these elements for assembly. Rotation of the cap in a counter-clockwise direction causes the pin 33 to move into the portion 19 of the groove 17. As the pin nears the end of the groove, it moves downwardly into the portion 21 and at such point the openings 16 and 28 fully register (see Figure 2). The downward movement of the pin 33 has caused the top 26 of the cap to move into close engagement with the top 14 of the neck 13. Thus, during the dispensing operation, it is practically impossible for any of the powder, paste, or other substance dispensed, to get beneath the cap and prevent proper sealing of the opening 16 when said cap is moved to close said opening. If, however, as in the case of a paste, some of it has been left about the opening 16, the edges 29 of the opening 28 will scrape the paste away from the rim of the opening, thus assuring proper sealing of the tube. To close the tube, the cap 25 is rotated in a clockwise di rection causing the pin to move slightly upwardly out of the portion 21 of the groove, and thus generally downwardly into the portion 18 of the groove, During this movement, the gasket 32 is moved to lie over the opening 16. Since the gasket is considerably larger than the opening 16, it is found convenient to slightly release the downward pressure of the gasket on the top 14 of the neck 13 by a slight upward travel of the pin 33 in the portion 20 of the groove 1'7. This serves the dual purpose of preventing undue compression of the gasket 32 over the opening 16 and inadvertent rotation of the cap to partially or fully open position.

It is pointed out that although applicant has shown and described a cap for a container wherein the guide means is formed in the neck of the container and a pin or other projection in the cap engages such guide means, it is contemplated to reverse the procedure since, when moulded caps in particular, are utilized, it may be found more expedient to form the guide or groove in the inner wall of the cap and provide a pin or other projection on the neck of the container. This modification, being a simple reversal of the structure considered, is not shown.

Although applicant has shown and described only one modification of his invention and applied it to a collapsible tube, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that this type of closure or a modification thereof may be applied to other receptacles or containers in a somewhat analogous form without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereunto annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention what I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving neck on said container having an opening, a projection on the inner wall of said cap, a groove formed in said neck, said groove being slightly inclined and terminating at its ends in reversely inclined portions, means facilitating entry of said projection into said groove substantially midway of the end portions thereof, said cap being mounted on said neck with said openings in partial registry and secured against removal from said neck when said openings are fully in or out of register.

2. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving neck on said container having an opening, a projection on the inner wall of said cap, an upwardly inclined groove in said neck for receiving said projection, means facilitating entry of said projection into said groove, the projection on said cap being moved from one extreme position to the other past said entry means whereby to secure said cap against removal from said neck when said openings are fully in or out of register.

3. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving neck on said container having an opening, means for securing said cap on said container with said openings fully in or out of register and further means permitting mounting or removal of said cap with said openings partially in register.

4. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving portion on said container having an opening registerable with the opening in said cap, a projection on the inner wall of said cap, an upwardly inclined groove in said neck for receiving said projection and guiding said cap from opened to closed position, means facilitating entry of said projection into said groove and further means causing said cap to seat on said neck when said openings-are in register.

5. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving portion on said container having an opening, a projection on the inner wall of said cap, an inclined groove partially around the circumferential wall of said neck and adapted to receive said projection, means facilitating entry of said projection into said groove and further means for drawing the walls of the opening of said cap into close contact with the top of said neck when said cap and said neck openings are fully in register.

6. In a dispensing container, closure means comprising a cap having an opening, a cap receiving neck on said container having an opening, means for securing said cap on said container with said openings fully in or out of register, and further means facilitating mounting or removal of said cap, said further means being operable at a point between the fully opened or closed position of said cap.

MERRILL L. RATHBUN. 

